


Non-Lethal Shark Bites

by ChubuPeng



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Again i cant write the other characters bc im bad, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Aquariums, Black Volitan Lionfish Akira, Falling In Love, Great White Shark Ryuji, Hurt/Comfort, Language Barrier, M/M, Marine Biology, Mer AU no one asked for, Merman Akira, Merman Ryuji, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, i asked for it, ill try
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-02-15 09:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13027929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChubuPeng/pseuds/ChubuPeng
Summary: Akira, a Black Volitan Lionfish Mer, is thrust into a new life after his search for food ends in an utter failure.Ryuji, a Great White Shark Mer, doesn't enjoy being in a tank, but he's trying.The two creatures don't seem to get along as one is prey for the other.Considering the circumstances, maybe having a new tank mate wouldn't be such a bad thing.





	1. Essentials

          Being chased out of his hunting grounds was irritating.  His new competition feasted on almost all of the prey, leaving him hardly anything to eat. Akira didn’t know of any other coral reef he could go to for a snack. Travelling far out into the deep in search of one could be risky. Bumping into a grouper or a shark would mean trouble, not to mention terrifying.  
Defending himself against a tough predator might be an issue since he hunts alone. Akira’s parents kicked him out of their group once he reached adolescence.

Surviving wasn’t too difficult as he was able to locate a hunting ground in a couple of hours on his first day.

  
Lionfish were known to be extremely territorial, especially lionfish Mers. Just being in the radius of one could turn out ugly. Territorial was an understatement for Akira’s new neighbors. If one were to even spot him a few feet away from them, Akira had to bolt away before he’d get ganged up on. All that could be heard in the waters were growls and hisses from the Mer family. He’s no match for them even if he was rather agile. No point in getting caught up in their fins.

   
  


Ever since his dining place has been raided, Akira hadn’t had a decent meal. A couple of days have passed and he only managed a couple of leftovers from the Mers. None of it was filling enough to keep his stomach from constantly growling at him.

 

_If food isn’t an option here, I guess I need to find a new area._ Akira finally considered the idea of looking for a new hunting ground. He had no choice. If an eel decided he was tasty enough, so be it. This Mer has to eat, and fast. Starving is not on his to-do list.

   
  


Before deciding to depart, Akira made sure to grab his necklace made from his own scales and a thin strand of seaweed. He made sure to bury it carefully in the sand in case some critter decided to swim off with it. Akira doesn’t have the necklace on when he’s hunting, as he wouldn’t want it to become damaged if he were to be attacked.

Every so often, he’d shed a couple of scales. He made sure to only pick out the ones that gave off the best shine and had eye-pleasing colors. His necklace primarily consisted of black and white stripes. Occasionally, the areas where he has red stripes next to black would shed as well, producing a nice gradient of both colors. Akira would puncture a hole at the top of the scale using his canines, stringing it on and adding it on to his collection.

 

Tying his treasure around his neck, Akira swam out of his little rock cave. The lack of food has been making him rather sluggish recently. He hopes a food source is nearby and that the predators can hold off for just a few hours until he gets to his destination.

 

When he was about to dash off, a painful sensation ran through his stomach. Akira winced, halting to a stop and clutching abdomen.

He waited for the feeling to subside, clutching tighter, only to feel something boney jabbing him in his chest area.  
  
_Wait, were his ribs starting to show?_ _That’s not a good sign._

Not even glancing back from his old home, the Mer swam forth into the deep waters.  
  


\--  
  
  


By the time he took off, it was still early morning, judging from the position of the sun. The water grew darker as time went on. Less sunlight was shining through the waves and now the sky was accompanied by a shade of orange.  
  
_Great, it’s close to sunset._ He figured.  Hunting in the dark shadows was no fun. It’s not like he’s an angler fish or something.  
  
Akira was beginning to feel lightheaded, nausea slowly creeping up his throat. He lurched over in another wave of pain that struck his stomach. He allowed himself to fall into the sand as he was unable to stay afloat anymore. His gills weren’t functioning. Akira clutched is throat, grasping for breath.

 

When he finally completely collapsed into the sand, he shut his eyes, shielding himself from the blinding light he was seeing.

He felt a large shadow casting over him, blocking the sunlight. Guess this is where his journey ends. The Mer has no strength left. Even moving a muscle is exhausting. His body was probably going to be ripped apart by some shark the longer he remains there. At least the shark will have something to eat. Survival of the fittest, after all.

 

Akira turned his head to the direction the foreign object was. With his blurry vision, he was able to make out three black shapes swimming in his direction.  
_Did he say sharks? Those are probably Mers or something…_  
It doesn’t matter now.

Death occurs to all creatures eventually. It was finally his time to experience it.

 

Akira slowly closed his eyes, letting out one final exhale of defeat. He used the last bit of energy he had to hold onto the necklace around his neck.

The three black figures from before swam towards him, just as soon as he fell into unconsciousness.  
  


“Suspicions confirmed. The creature is indeed a Mer.” The male scuba diver spoke to his two fellow divers beside him.

“Right. You two say here with the Mer while I go up to report this.” The female diver explained while turning to swim back up.  


The two nodded, staying put. While they waited, they began to examine the sea creature. Hopefully, their team can assist its recovery.


	2. Red Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clearly the harpoon was no accident. Someone wanted it dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im alive. i still have finals and stuff but i wanted to write again.  
> it's short but i couldn't keep y'all waiting. 
> 
> i forgot how to write so if i need to fix anything, let me know
> 
> criticism and feedback appreciated.

**_2 months ago_**  
  
  
  
_Haru’s shift doesn’t begin until noon. She usually arrives before the other workers to make sure everything’s up and running smoothly, but today she’s running a bit late. Luckily, it was a nice day out today. Not too hot, but still nice and warm. A perfect day to spend time at the beach. But alas, some people had jobs to do, even in the blazing heat._  
  
_Haru couldn’t complain though, she enjoyed her job. She mainly manages the touch pools and often checks on the endangered coral. It takes delicate hands to care for the aquatic plants as well as starfish and small stingrays. It’s sometimes worrying when customers handle the creatures in the touch pools quite roughly. She can’t help but fear for the little critters’ life, as if she was in danger as well. Luckily, no incidents of harmed sea life in her family's aquariums have been reported. Even the scariest looking visitors handle them gently, holding and petting them with care._  
  
  
_Okumura Aquariums is well known for the variety of sea life it holds. From gigantic orcas to the smallest of hermit crabs, they have it all. Well, not really._  
_Great white sharks, for example, are not even in any aquariums. This is due to the fact that they get stressed out easily. These sharks can’t live in contained areas, they needed space to roam._  
_Even with the biggest tank to hold them in, it still wouldn’t be suitable. Great whites also get easily aggravated and may even end up hurting themselves whilst in the tanks. The longest a great white was held in captivity was just a few months before it ended up dying._

_Mers were another example. They’ve only been recently discovered and not quite a lot of information is known about them. They’re still mysterious creatures and the media is dying to learn more about them. It all started when an aquarium overseas spread news about their new animal on display._  
_Everyone was in awe, sharing millions of photos across multiple platforms._  
  
_Some companies even started producing merchandise to get in on this new trend._  
_From costumes to plushies, and there were even people trying to sell off their “freshly caught mer” found in their local river or ocean._  
  
  
_Researchers would kill, just to have such a rare, majestic creature in their laboratories to study. Who knows what would happen to them in more aquariums get their hands on them. Poor things would probably be trapped and isolated inside a small, uncomfortable tank. Haru just hopes that her father wouldn’t get his hands on one. He hasn’t been the type of person to treat his workers right, much less the sea life around here._  
  
_He doesn’t even bat an eye when one of them is sick and just tells his employees to “fix them.” Kunikazu Okumura can easily replace his workers as well as anything that dies behind his tanks. Just what you might expect from a corrupt millionaire owning multiple aquariums across Japan._  


* * *

  
_As she was a few blocks away from her destination, Haru couldn’t help but overhear the commotion going on down at the local beach. Are people arguing? There were sounds of screaming as well, that can’t be too good._  
_As she sprinted towards the sound, she spotted a crowd huddling around something. When she got closer, Haru stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t hold back the gasp that left her. Eyes wide and jaw agape, Haru was looking down at a mer, laying on its side and clearly in need of some help._  
  
_She would have continued staring if it weren’t for the fact that the poor creature was encased in a fishing net, along with a harpoon on the side of its tail, just below the waist. It was bleeding heavily, not just from the harpoon wound, but from the cuts that the net was leaving on its torso and tail._  
_Who would do such a thing to this mer? Clearly the harpoon was no accident. Someone wanted it dead._  
  
  
_Its arms were pulled up towards its chest due to how tight the net was around it. There was even a small fish trapped in there, probably since the mer was hunting before it got itself into this predicament._  
  
_No matter how much the mer may struggle, that net wouldn’t be coming off easily, not with the lack of supplies Haru had on her right now._  
  
  
_Its lower half had some old scars healing over, most likely from other predatory mers out in the waters. It had short spiky blond hair, and was pretty buff as well. Haru assumes it to be male, but she'd need to confirm it first._  
_Her heart broke when sounds of whimpering could be heard from the mer. Its face was scrunched up with pain, the upper half of its body trembling like a hurt child. At least it wasn’t conscious right now, or it would be even more pain right now. From what Haru could tell, it seemed to be a species of shark, a great white, perhaps. Its large dorsal fin on its back was a dead giveaway, as well as the coloring of its tail._  
  
  
_“S-stand back!” A middle-aged man told her, extending his arm out to keep her from getting any closer to the mer. “This was the thing that was terrorizing the waters for weeks now!” The man shouted with aggression, not taking his eyes off the creature. His body was trembling, either from fear or anger. Some of the parents that were there pulled their children further away from the scene; despite how curious they were about this washed-up mer. Almost all of the attention on the beach was focused in this one little area._  
  
_Terrorizing? Haru had heard news about a shark being around the ocean recently, but surely this poor mer wasn’t out to hunt any humans! Sure, it seems like it has enough strength to kill one, but this mer just seemed to be out looking for a quick meal._  
  
  
_Suddenly, anger took over her. All these people just standing around to watch the scene unfold? All these people just standing around to see a mer dying on the beach and not doing anything to help it? She couldn’t let that go._  
  
_“Stand back? You want me to stand back and let this mer bleed out? A life shouldn’t be taken just because you are too scared to help!” She practically lectured the man like a child. Haru looked around the area for a bucket as soon as she saw that the mer was having trouble breathing. Its gills laid slack against its neck, completely useless on land. It kept swishing its tail uselessly back and forth in the sand, a certain action done by most sharks to regulate their breathing patterns._  
  
_How could she forget?_  
_Mers had gills, not lungs. Haru had to act fast before the mer died from either suffocation or blood loss._  
  
  
_Haru spotted a blue medium sized beach bucket. It wasn’t much, but it’ll help._  
_“If you guys aren’t too busy staring, I suggest you all help me get some water in its gills.” Haru practically glared at the crowd before dashing off towards the ocean with the blue bucket in her hands. She was thankful the mer didn’t wash up too far up shore. It was only just a few feet from the ocean._  
  
_Heading back towards the mer, she quickly poured the bucket’s contents onto the mer’s gills. She was relieved to see it take a deep breath._  
_Good, it’s still alive. Haru let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in._  
  
_She couldn’t keep doing this. She had to call someone for extra assistance, seeing as how these bystanders had no experience in dealing with sea life. More blood from the harpoon wound was flowing towards the ocean. It was starting to look like a crime scene. Haru grimaced._  
  
  
_Hopefully the mer could hold off a bit before needing another splash of water while she made her call. Her heart was pounding as she reached for it inside her sweater pocket._  
  
_Makoto. She was probably at the aquarium now._  
  
_Just as Haru pressed the call button, clutching the empty bucket to her chest, she heard a voice to the left of her._  
  
  
_“What are you doing?! Get back over here this instant! It’s dangerous!” A female voice cried out. Haru turned to see a young boy running towards herself and the mer with his own bucket of water in hand._  
  
_The line continued to ring. Please, pick up._  
  
  
_“He needs help, mom! I’m not gonna let him die like the rest of you are!” The boy glared back at his mother, panting heavily, most likely from the quick trip he just made. He made another trip to the water and back, giving the mer a few more seconds to breathe again._  
  
  
_The boy then faced his mother again and calmly spoke. “You’ve always taught me to help others whenever I can. What difference does it make if he looks scary or different from us?” For a second, the kid wore a sad expression on his face, before reverting back to looking determined again and fetching some more water._  
  
_As if moved by the boy’s words, people started grabbing whatever bucket they could find and began to head towards the ocean._  
  
  
_Haru couldn’t help but smile at that. Maybe there’s still some humanity left in this world._  
_Her smile faltered when she heard the other person on the phone pick up._  
  
_“Haru? Is something wrong?” Makoto’s voice was laced with concern. Haru heard heavy breathing on the other end, as if Makoto was scrambling to pick up her cell._  
  
_“Yes,” she immediately answered. Haru gripped onto her phone tighter before continuing. “Please, I need you at the beach right now. There’s an injured mer, encased in a fishing net and has a harpoon in its tail. It’s bleeding out, it doesn’t have much time.” Haru couldn’t contain how worried she sounded._  
  
_What if she’s too late? What if the poor creature ends up dying?_  
  
  
_Both sides were silent for a moment before Makoto spoke up. “On my way, don’t hang up.” She firmly told her._  
  
_Haru nodded, even though the other couldn’t see her doing so._  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Sooo i should be working on my first fic but i have so many fic ideas ok.  
> I tried to be as accurate as possible, tell me if something's off.
> 
> I'll update when I can so yeah try not to get too hype over this.
> 
> Criticism appreciated, ty.
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: April 4th, 2018  
> sorry, i just cant find the energy or time to continue this right now. so yeah, it's gonna be on a huge hiatus. im sorry. ive been stressed and busy recently and i dont even know where this story is going rn. i appreciate to those who even read this measly chapter.


End file.
